Owner: Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother URL:http://adventuresofabreastfeedingmother.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:26:03 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Mother of a beautiful 2 year old and newborn, I use this blog to sort out my thoughts and feelings on both every day life and events in the world. This blog will mostly focus on breastfeeding, homebirth, mothering, and attachment parenting. Site statistics:Click here
Children and Toys 1970-01-01 00:59:59 This past Friday while I was at my midwife's house, the Mermaid really enjoyed herself playing with the other children and with the toys that my midwife had around the house. My midwife is a really cool person, and very into natural and healthy things. I noticed that all the toys she had in her home were wooden toys or knitted toys....no plastic, no loud songs or voices, no constantly flashing bright lights. I noticed that this kept the mommy discussion going quite nicely, as we didn't have to yell to be heard over the toys. I also noticed that the Mermaid seemed to enjoy these types of toys more than her own! Rather than listen to what a hard plastic doll was shouting at her, she got to play with a soft, knit doll, and decide for herself what the doll would say. I couldn't believe I never realized how imaginative she really is, and I guess it was because the lights and sounds of her plastic toys really limited her. Then when I was looking for news to post about, I found this intere Read more:Children
Epidurals and Breastfeeding 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I saw this article in the news lately that I thought was very interesting. According to the study: epidural anesthesia was significantly associated with difficulty breastfeeding in the few days after birth and with partial breastfeeding in the first week after delivery. In addition, the 416 women who had epidurals were twice as likely to completely stop breastfeeding before six months compared with women who used no analgesia, after controlling for maternal age and education. Seventy-two percent of women who had no analgesia were breastfeeding at 24 weeks compared with 53% whoreceived pethidine or epidurals containing bupivacaine and fentanyl (an opioid). I personally feel that they are onto something here. I chose to have a homebirth with the Guppy because I didn't like the way the epidural and other pain meds I received during the Mermaid's birth effected both her and I. The Mermaid would not wake up for the first 48 hours to eat, which the nurses told me was normal with babies who
Disgusting Baby Products 1970-01-01 00:59:59 There are some baby products out on the market that I find disgusting. Now, I find a lot of baby products are OK as long as they are not abused. For instance, the car seat bucket for infants, the binky, etc. But there are a few that I find disgusting just for their purposes. There is the classical hands free feeding system, because God forbid someone actually have to hold their baby while feeding him or her. And now, there is this:The Flying Falcon Infant Car Seat CarrierOh come on, you can't be serious. Ever hear of a sling? ::insert eye roll here:: Read more:Products
Goodbye Fast Life, Hello Motherhood.... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Although I don't consider myself a young mom, a lot of people would. I'm usually one of the youngest moms in my playgroups. And I've had strangers think that I was the babysitter numerous times. I am the only one my age whom I know with children. Most of my before-children friends have drifted away, which is fine with me, since we really don't have much in common anymore. Except my best friend, who I think still enjoys hanging around with me because she adores kids and she has two nieces that are the Mermaid's age, so we have "playdates" and take the kids to the mall, etc. She is now engaged and wants to start trying to have kids as soon as the wedding is over. But sometimes, I wonder how my life would've been different if I didn't have children, if I had waited a little longer. This thought kept popping up repeatedly last night due to a conversation I had with my best friend. It went something like this:BF: Oh, great news! Fiance and I are going on a cruise! We just kind of dec Read more:Goodbye
, Hello
, Motherhood
Oink, Oink, Oink 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Ok, no laughing allowed! Here is the stuffed pig I knit for Summer:And, just because she is so darn cute:
Losing the Weight 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Before I got pregnant with the Mermaid, my weight usually ranged from 118 to 122 (I always weighed more in the winter). Then pregnancy hit.My pregnancy with the Mermaid was uneventful. I pretty much had an easy going pregnancy, except for one thing: weight gain. I gained, and gained, and gained. In total, I ended up gained a whopping 78lbs. And it was all because I didn't take care of myself. I would sit on the couch and eat.Then came the Mermaid's birth. It was a pretty easy birth, as hospital births go. The hardest part occurred when I got home. I quickly sunk into postpartum depression and didn't even realize it. At the time, I was having trouble breastfeeding the Mermaid, I was new at motherhood, I lived out of state from the rest of my family. I also had issues with other people not approving of my parenting style, which made me feel really insecure. The Knight had a different, less paying job, and we were broke. And finally, my grandmother was really sick and ended up dying ri Read more:Weight
The Guppy's 2 month WBV 1970-01-01 00:59:59 This past Friday the Guppy had her two month check up. I really hate these appointments because I see no need to bring a perfectly healthy child to the doctor, but I was really interested to see how much weight she had gained, so we went. And the Guppy is now up to 15 lbs! The Mermaid didn't weigh 15lbs until she was 7 months old. And all on Mommy's Milk! We declined all vaxs and she checked out as perfectly healthy. So, I paid $15 dollars to get my baby weighed and for someone to tell me that she was perfectly healthy....which I already knew. Ah well.
Rolling Things Along... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Here it is, ball #2. I like the different colors better and it's bigger than the first one. Next is a swirl ball and then some blocks, but I doubt I will get it all finished before Christmas. Read more:Rolling
In the News... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 A couple articles that I've been looking at the past week and I've finally decided I have time to blog about them.I know that there is a lot of controversy surrounding the whole immigration issue. I'm not going to argue that issue. In fact, I won't even state which side of the argument I agree with. But no matter what side, there is no reason at all that the government should seperate a nursing mom from her baby. You are not only punishing the mom, but the baby too, because the baby will suffer emotionally from not having her mother near her and physically from not having the nutricious breastmilk that she needs. DesMoines news reports that:Sister Christine Feagan, from the St. Mary's Hispanic Ministry, and The Rev. Jim Miller, who is a priest from the St. Mary's Parish, both said they drove to Camp Dodge this afternoon to find out the status of a nursing mother who was deported and nursing a baby. They were also seeking a father with an ashmatic child.The baby left behind has
Breastmilk Fighting Cancer? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Most of us breastfeeding moms know that breastfeeding has lot of of benefits not only to the baby, but to the mom also. The act of breastfeeding reduces the risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer for the mother. But does the actual breastmilk have cancer fighting powers too?According to Science News, it does. According to the article:Once Svanborg and her team had established that something in breast milk was killing human cancer cells in the lab, they isolated the assassin. It turned out to be the protein alpha-lactalbumin. But the compound becomes lethal only whenexposed to acid, as it is in a stomach and was in the lab. The acid unfolds the alpha lactalbumin protein into a havoc-wreaking form.Svanborg dubbed the acidified form of the protein HAMLET, for human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumors.Cancer
cells take up far more HAMLET than healthy cells do. The huge quantities of unfolded proteins destroy the cancer cells. Svanborg found that HAMLET killed 40 kinds of tumor c Read more:Fighting
Nestle Warned....Again 1970-01-01 00:59:59 My family and I boycott Nestle
. There are many reasons we boycott them, but the main reason is because their business ethics are.....well, let's just say they don't have ethics. And yet again, Nestle is in the news for their poor conducting of business. According to Reuters News,U.S. health regulators have warned Swiss food group Nestle over its GoodStart Infant Formula with Iron after a sample failed to meet proper nutrient levels, according to a letter released on Tuesday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration letter said its analysis of the formula collected in May did not meet minimum requirements for calcium and phosphorus, the agency said in aNovember 27 letter to the company.Nestle, of course, is claiming that it is a matter of improper testing procedures, or something else, because of course they are innocent @@.You can find a copy of the warning letter at the US Food and Drug Administration site. Read more:Again
Happy Holidays 1970-01-01 00:59:59 With the holidays here I haven't been posting as much, but will be back to posting regularly. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great holiday! Enjoy all the good food and gifts, and of course, be sure to stay safe on the road! Read more:Happy
, Holidays
, Happy Holidays
Christmas Memories 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas
/holiday. Our Christmas went really well, in my opinion. Christmas Eve we went over to my Aunts house and celebrated with the family. We did stocking stuffers and a Yankee Swap, and also a Secret Santa. From my Secret Santa I got a shirt that has a pink Superman symbol on the front and it says, "I make milk. What's your superpower?" Unfortunately I don't have it yet, because it didn't come in on time. But I will post pics of it when I do get it. My family also got the girls a lot of toys. The gifts from that night alone are enough to cover Brooke's entire toddler bed.Christmas the IL's and DH's grandmother came to our house. It was my first time cooking a big meal like that and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. We all got great gifts and I'm pretty sure that everyone enjoyed themselves. My only disappointment was that with all the running around I was doing, I didn't get to take very many pictures at all :o(. So I only have a few to share, Read more:Christmas Memories
3 Month Old Letter 1970-01-01 00:59:59 My Dearest Guppy,As I sit here writing this your sister is out with her Grampy and Grandma and you are sleeping soundly in your pack and play. I still cannot believe that you are three months old. How time does fly!This morning I was walking about in the living room getting some cleaning done before the Mermaid came home. You were sleeping in your Pack and Play and yet, I noticed that every time I walked by you would open your eyes slightly, watch me pass, and go back to sleep. Poor baby, I thought, I think I will put her in the bedroom so that I won't disturb her and she will sleep more soundly.Sleep soundly, you did not.Every five minutes you would fuss until I came to lay down next to you on the bed. Only then would you go back to sleep. This went on for an hour. Why, I thought, is this baby having trouble sleeping when the room is so quiet? Then it hit me. Not quiet. Silent. You were having trouble sleeping because there was only silence surrounding you. You could not hear my rea Read more:Month
, Letter
Because What You Don't Know Can Hurt You... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Five Things You May Not Know About Me 1. I have double vision. That's right, I see two of everything. This makes it really difficult to play pool and mini golf, but I love going to fireworks! 2. I rode horses since I was four years old and participated in Equestrian competitions. I had to sell my horse when I got pregnant with the Mermaid and haven't been on a horse since....I really miss it. 3. I have a phobia of dolls. But just the real fancy porcelain ones that you keep on a stand to look at. I can't walk by the doll kiosk in the mall without digging my nails into the Knight's arm. 4. I think whoever invented Bratz has a special place in Hell reserved for them for teaching little girls it's OK to be materialistic, wear too much make up, and dress like a slut. 5. When I took my driver's license test I ran a stop sign and hit a snow bank. When the test ended the instructor flipped a coin to decide if he would pass me or not...I picked heads, and heads it was. He passed me. Thank
Birth as We Know It 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I just found out about this wonderful, wonderful video about birth. It's called "Birth as We Know It" and just watching the trailer makes me cry and smile and laugh...check it out! Definitely on my wish list!
Happy New Years! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a good New Year's Eve. The Knight and I stayed home and invited a couple people over. We didn't do much, just watched tv and played some games, but we still had fun. I got a lot of knitting done ;o) Around 1am the Mermaid woke up and decided she wanted to join the festivities and we finally all went to bed at 2am. Now I am tired!The Knight has today off from work so we will probably do some shopping. Have a good day everyone! Read more:Happy
, Years
Tea Party 1970-01-01 00:59:59 You are invited to a tea party hosted by the lovely Miss Mermaid. Other guests in attendance include: Mrs. My Little Pony and her daughter, Miss Dora, and Mr. Dragon. Miss Mermaid will be sure to entertain you with her wild and action-filled tales of her day. And have no fear, for Miss Mermaid is an excellent host and will make sure your tea cup is never empty.Isn't is great to see your child's imagination at play? :o) Read more:Party
, Tea Party
An Inconvenient Truth 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Since I wrote a post about a DVD concerning homebirth, I figured I would post about another DVD that is definitely on my wish list. An Inconvenient Truth
talks about global warming and how it will effect our future. From the site:Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. If that sounds like a recipe for seriousgloom and doom -- think again. From director Davis Guggenheim comes the Sundance Film Festival hit, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate andinspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat Read more:Inconvenient Truth
On a Lighter Note.... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 click to see a cute comic about homebirth.Thanks to Widwife for the heads up! :o)
In the News... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I saw this article about Ferberizing and thought it was interesting. I paid special attention to the part where the author wrote:Sleep experts reviewed 52 studies of various behavioral treatments that address bedtime problems and night wakings among infants and toddlers; 49 of the studies showed positive results. The trick is to pick a plan you can live with and stickto it, they concluded.So if crying it out fits within your parenting philosophy, go for it. If not, don't. It's not a debate worth losing sleep over. Either approach will work--though probably not fast enough. Alright, maybe letting your helpless baby cry alone in the dark may work to force him to sleep through the night before he or she is ready. But when I look at the long-term consequences....I think I'll pass, thank you. Co sleeping is definitely what works best for us.
I plan, I dream, I act... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I resolve.I've always hated New Year's Resolutions. I either made resolutions that were too hard, too easy, too specific, not specific enough, not helpful, etc. So this year I decided to do things a little differently. I decided to resolve to be a better person in general (very nonspecific) and especially work in the areas of my weight, finances, the house, and the environment (very specific). I will set monthly goals in each category that I can realistically reach, but I will not beat myself up if I don't reach those goals.If there is one thing I learned while breastfeeding, it is that support can make a HUGE difference in success. I think that if one wishes to truly succeed at breastfeeding, support is essential. I am taking this idea and applying it to my resolutions, because I believe I will succeed more if I have support.First, my weight. I've been on Weight Watchers since Summer was 6 weeks old, and I lost 10lbs before Christmas. Then the holidays came, and I think everyone k
I Am Having Withdrawals... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 camera withdrawals, that is.A typical Saturday morning begins when I wake up to a messy house. Not wanting to come home to such a mess, I make the Knight help me get the house in shape before we can go out to do anything fun. This usually leads to a lot of resentment on his part towards me, understandably so. Then, to top it off, by the time we are done picking up the mess we are too tired to go out.This Saturday was different. Thanks to FlyLady, my house was clean. All I had to do was one load of laundry and keep my eye on the dishes. Can you say, massive free time? So I got a lot of fun stuff done while the Knight played with the girls. I knit a sweater for the Guppy, then I sewed a pocket diaper for the Guppy using materials I got from Diaper Cuts (excellent store with excellent customer service), then I sewed a pillow case for the Mermaid's bed, and then I started making some cloth nursing pads for myself. I made these all from materials I had laying around. So I had all these new Read more:Having
The Best Kind 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Remember how I talked about how important support is when achieving one's goals?This morning the Mermaid woke up early and came out to the living room while I was still doing my workout video. She sat on the couch and watched me sweat through each excercise, collapse at the end, then slowly get to my feet to begin the next set. After about five minutes, she started chanting, "Great, Mommy! You're great! Good job!" while I got through the set and "You did it, hooray!" at the end of each one. This not only made me laugh but it also made it much easier to keep going through the excercises. When I finally finished, she shouted "Hooray! You did it!" and gave me a giant hug.I have my own personal adorable, cuddly, loving cheerleader.And that, my friends, is the best kind of support you can get.
Come Out, Come Out, Where Ever You Are.... 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Did you know it's National Delurking Week? No? Well neither did I, until today. Boy, they just come up with a week for everything, don't they.So, any lurkers out there: comment, comment, comment. Let me know where you hail from. Let me know how you found my blog. Let me know I actully have readers. And let me know if you have a blog, I love finding new blogs :o)So come on people, make me feel loved! Comment away!
Maya Wrap Recall 1970-01-01 00:59:59 CPSC, Maya Wrap Announce Recall of Infant Carriers/SlingsIf you own a Maya Wrap, please check to see if this applies to you.
More on Car Seat Safety 1970-01-01 00:59:59 You remember I posted before about the importance of a five point harness in carseats.Now for some more very important and shocking news. Recently Consumer Reports issued a report that out of the 12 infant car seats they tested, only 1o passed. 10. out of 12. That is shocking and scary. Not only that, but one seat, the Evenflo Discovery, did not even meet federal safety standards. Keep an eye out for a recall soon. The only two seats that performed well were the Baby Trend Flex-Loc and the Graco SnugRide with EPS.And of course, no car seat is safe if it is installed incorrectly or not used according to the manual. Again, there is a lot of information about the safety of extended rear-facing, matching a car seat to your car, and how to find a certified technition to show you how to install your seat correctly. Remember, you should always try out the car seat in your car before you purchase it, most stores will allow you to do so. Please, take all measures to ensure that your children ar Read more:Safety
Fantastic Friday 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I thought a long time about what I was going to call my Friday
post. I decided that since I am trying my hardest to be optimistic about my goals, I would call it Fantastic
Friday. Because getting closer to your goals is, well....Fantastic.Ok, goal number one: weight. According to the Future MILF program, I have to post how much weight I lost this week and total lost. So, this week I lost....0 pounds. BUT, I didn't gain any weight either. So that brings the total weight loss since the Guppy's birth to 35lbs. Fantastic. I did really bad on my Weight Watcher's this week, pretty much going over my points every day. I think it is due to the Guppy wanting to nurse constantly, either because she doesn't feel good or because she is about to hit a growth spurt. Either way, it made me hungry all the time. So I ate a lot this week, but I still didn't gain any weight because breastfeeding that much will burn a lot of calories (fantastic!) and I was still consistent in getting up every day to
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